Sunday, December 28, 2014

Twenty-Fourteen: A Behemoth Year

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year's resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective."

-G.K. Chesterton

TWENTY-FOURTEEN

It's been a monumental year for me as a writer. So huge I wonder if I'll ever have another quite as big. See, this time last year, I was still entirely unpublished with a cover design in hand and an email into Createspace. By Valentine's Day, I had released my first novel, Fly Away Home. In January, I received word that I was a finalist in the Five Glass Slippers contest and saw my first novella published in June. The rest of the summer was spent finalizing cover design for my first mystery and second full-length novel, Anon, Sir, Anon. Throughout the early fall I put that novel through my trusty editor, Rachelle Rea, and the first Vivi & Farnham mystery debuted to quiet applause on the Fifth of November. In early December I finished the first draft of my children's novel, Cottleston Pie, and sent the first three chapters to beta-readers before polishing them up. By the time you read this, I will (hopefully) have sent Cottleston Pie to its first publisher to be looked upon with a savage eye. And we mustn't forget the twelve-day wonder, John Out-the-Window, which astounded me by coming out to nearly 18,000 words (each letter being written the day it was posted) and being acclaimed by some people as one of their favorite things I had ever written. In all seriousness, you are the best group of readers I know. The fact that you spent time every day in the hugely busy holiday season to drop by The Inkpen Authoress (some of you several times a day) and read something that was unpolished and unedited surprises and delights me. Thus, the year in writing. As for the year in reading? Well, I keep a list taped to my Wall of Inspiration. The wall currently looks like this:

Please forgive the overflowing trash can and busy-looking desk. We can't all be tidy.

It was not an exceptional reading year as far as numbers go. I was far too busy juggling the strange new world of Nanny vs. Novelist and trying to keep up with my family in the spare times. But if I did not read many books, the quality was high and delightful. From Plenilune to The Grand Sophy; from Eric Metaxas' giant and heart-wrenching biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer to a Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon; from The Man Who Was Thursday to Stephen Lawhead's Hood trilogy, it was a year of growth for me as a reader. The complete list is as follows, and my favorite titles are emboldened:

Outcasts by Jill WilliamsonThe Red House Mystery by A.A. MilneHoodby Stephen LawheadOrthodoxy by G.K. ChestertonCyrano de Bergerac by Edmond RostandForget-Me-Nots by Amber StokesScarlet by Stephen LawheadOn Distant Shores by Sarah SundinOnce on a Time by A.A. MilneThe Grand Sophy by Georgette HeyerDuty by Rachel RossanoDietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric MetaxasViolets Are Blue by Elizabeth RoseTuck by Stephen LawheadRegency Buck by Georgette HeyerCaptains Courageous by Rudyard KiplingSteal Like an Artist by Austin KleonOnly a Novel by Amy DashwoodPlenilune by Jennifer FreitagP.G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters edited by Sophie RatcliffeThe Mrs. Meade Mysteries Vol. I by Elisabeth G. FoleyThe Explicit Gospel by Matt ChandlerLeave it to Psmith by P.G. WodehouseAunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. WodehouseVillette by Charlotte BronteThe Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. ChestertonCorral Nocturne by Elisabeth G. FoleyHave His Carcase by Dorothy SayersThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne ShaferThe Book Thief by Markus ZusackMurder Must Advertise by Dororthy Sayers

As you can see, I was able to fit in quite a few indie novels, which was a lovely switch-up. The reason I do not have Five Glass Slippers on the list is because I still have not read one of the five stories and didn't feel I justified in listing it until I had. Before 2015 begins, I hope to be able to add The Hobbit into the list. It was one of my Christmas Break goals. Phew. Twenty-Fourteen sits heavy on the shoulders. Let's see what lies ahead in the twelve-month to come!

You surely have had a blessed, packed year in being a novelist, Rachel! Congrats, my dear :). I love your writing, the more you write, the more I love it. In a way, I really fell in love with your writing this year actually :D.

I love your reading list of 2014! So many books that I long to read, and some that are favourites already.

I must do a similar post. This year, I mostly read. . . writing took a sideline, sadly. Hope to change that in the coming year or two.

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I'm Rachel Heffington; in varying degress, that will mean a dreamer, a writer, a people-lover, and a great many other things. I write chiefly because I read, and I read chiefly because the love of Story is writ on my soul and I cannot escape it. I hope I can inspire readers with an ache for that one Story of which we are each a part. I released my debut novel, Fly Away Home (available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble online) in February, 2014, and my short Cinderella retelling (The Windy Side of Care) is scheduled to be released in the Five Glass Slippers collection published by Rooglewood Press in June.
I am so pleased to make your acquaintance; do stick around and partake in the whimsy!